Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-02-10
AMONG THE OLD SETTLERS.
Indian Tales From a Generation
That is Gone.

Fr03n fhe FdtIoSsb (GG.l Times.
''Do you see that hole there? Some
years ago a boy was blowing along here
and suddenly the earth beneath him
gave way and the horse and boy went
down."
Tom Polhill spoke those words and Jim
Stapler corroborated them. Four OF us
were pressing hard upon large coVey of
partrIdges that had sought shelter in the
thick. grass and weeds which encountered
the ground thereabOuts. Already 4 half
dozen beauties had peen bagged about
the spot, and "Chsck" was just bringing
in another which had fallen before Jim
Stapler's unerring aim, while "Ruby"
stood, picture for an artist, upon
another just ten PAGES ahead. But we
stopped for a moment to hear more of
this tale. +........
"By great effort" continued Tom,
"the boy eXtricated himself from the
earth, which had bedged in around him,
as he sank down. and ran off for help,
but all efforts to rescue the animal alive
were failure" 1t was said that for
long time it was difficult to get negroes
to work or plow IN that field. The hole
in the ground stood a constant threat TO
their peace OF mind. They could not lay
in the fence corners and sleep with any
degree of satisfaction Tor fear of being
swallowed IN alive.
Jim Hunt was standing on the brink of
the cavity in the garth with a Remington
cooked, present arms" like, looking
every second for a partridge to rustic out
from under his feet, but while this story
was being told and commented upon by
US he instinctively backed off a fe w PAGES,
as though he was fancying the earth was
again about to give way and this time
take him in instead OF the horse and boy.
This was in what is known as the
Albert field, In the First Tor Bellyille)
district of Hamilton county, Fla, and il
is not over mile and half from the
Ochtahachee, which has a subterranean
outlet by which the magnificent lake
every year or so empties its waters into
unknown recesses below, leaving large
dry basin two miles long.
The underground that makes hum
mock OF so much OF the Bellville district
now is comparatively OF recent growth.
Forty years ago one could stand upon the
hill three miles east OF Bellville, upon
which the POlhill boys with their mother
and sister, now live and see a great
distance around through the great pine
forests. Now you can see no distance
where it is not cleared. In the early set
Element Of this country the hunters, who
stillhunted principally, used to go to that
hill to spot the deer. Charles Herndon,
who, by the way, is yet death to
the deer when he gets among
them in the woods, has iourneyed to that
hill and gone out Of the region about 1t
with many buck. On one occasion he
spotted his deer half mile or more away,
feeding on the young and tender herbs
and grasses of sprlng. BY an art known
to the still-huutel alone, he stealthily
stalked up within range, and was draw
inU bia hngn which hpoth N tho
object In view, when he discovered lit
tie fawn coming like lightning across the
ridge to the mother doe. His rifle
dropped and then found resting
place on his shoulder, and doe and
fawn were allowed to depart alive and
in peace. Such an impulse could come
olly from true hunter-one who believed
in protecting while he slew. But why
this later growthy We have heard that
the Indians used to burn the woods with
great regularity, ard always at certain
time In the spring-in March, we believe.
This kept the undergo with of oak, hick-
DRY, dogwood, ETC., down. Since the red
man has departed for other hunting
grounds and the paletace has taken pos
session OF these parts, the fire has been
kept out of the woods as much as possible,
and hence the transformation.
When the Cherokee Indians passed
Seminole region in South Florida, party
of them crossed the Withlacoocnee river
at what is now known as "lndlan Ford,'
near Bellyile, from which circumstance
il got its name. A white settler, whose
name now escapes us, was living near the
crossing, aud during the night they en-
tered his Outaouses ana stole lot of sea
island cotton seed, evidently mistaking
them for peas. This circumstance led 10
the discovery the next day Of the fact that
they were in the country, and a party
was organized to follow them. Some
miles below, about West Farm, in Madi-
son county, the seed was found upon the
trail emptied out upon the ground. 1t is
supposed that they travelled on during
the night and did not discover that the
seed was not peas until daylight.
This reminds us that that beautiful
lake on Capt. b. +. MosaIey's plantation,
twelve miles south OF Valdosta, known
as Indian Pond, took its name from a
circumstance connected with the Chero-
kee hegira to Florida, 1t is said that the
father OF Franklin SwIlley killed the last
Indian ever known in this region while
the red man was on the edge of this lake
drinking water. He seemed to be alone.
Perhaps he fell i'll by the way ana had
been left to perish. Perhaps his strength
had rallied and he resumed the journey
southwark alone. His ill luck, or bad
health, led to a reckless. Indifference to
his fate. and he thus allowed paleface
to get the drop on him. At any rate a
bullet through the body laid the warrior
low, and never more did he meet his fell
low warriors this side OF the happy
grounds.